Support wire forming apparatus



Sept. 29, 1953 C VAUGHAN 2,653,631

SUPPORT WIRE FORMING APPARATUS Filed July 23, 1948 .g Z 29 Z 46p a A 5 2a Invewtov: Clayton T. Vaugwan, His A tfor ggf Patented Sept. 29, 1953 SUPPORT WIRE FORMING APPARATUS Clayton T. Vaughan, Circleville, Ohio, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application July 23, 1948, Serial No. 40,325

3 Claims. (01. 140-715) My invention relates to the manufacture of incandescent lamps and more particularly to apparatus for bending a group of filament support wires, extending radially from a portion of a stem, into a predetermined form and spacing.

The manufacture of the filament-supporting structure for certain types of incandescent lamps, such as those for train headlight and spotlight service, includes the step of bending an unusually complex and closely held grouping of support wires. The support wires are bent into an arrangement which is particularly well suited to hold a relatively long coiled filament in a manner to provide a desired optical effect as well as to provide a high bump resistance to the lamp, and involves the bending, at spaced points along their length, of support wires extending radially from a supporting element. Because of the complexity of the bending operation, it has not heretofore been performed in its entirety by mechanical means.

One object of my invention is to provide apparatus for bending a complex grouping of support wires extending radially from a vitreous button of a stem part to definite positions endwise thereof. The function of the sup-port wires in the incandescent lamp here involved is to retain the various sections or segments of a relatively concentrated filament at definite locations within a limited zone usually in axial alignment with the stem and beyond the vitreous button at the end of the stem. The bending operation consists in bending certain of the support wires so they extend axially outward to support the concentrated filament at points remote from the button, while other support wires are bent to support the filament at points adjacent to the button.

Another object of my invention is to provide apparatus for bending a group of radially extending filament support wires held by a lamp stem or other supporting structure, which apparatus is characterized by bending means movable to and from a position about said lamp stem and in proper operative relation to said filament support wires. The above apparatus eliminates to a great extent the difiiculties of positioning the group of support wires and the lamp stem in the bending apparatus, promotes greater accuracy and eliminates many of the usual steps in the bending operation. The apparatus comprising my invention is equally useful as a bench type device or in combination with automatically operated means advancing the stem with its grouping of support wires into operative relation to the bending apparatus and actuating said apparatus in proper synchronism with said movements. The latter automatic apparatus may be one of the combination stem and inserting machines or automatic mount-making machines, as in U. S. Patent 1,907,532, J. Flaws, dated May 9, 1933, in which the more common form of incandescent lamp is manufactured and in which the present bending apparatus may occupy one of the work stations thereof.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the following detailed description of a species thereof and from the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a bench-type support wire bending apparatus comprising my invention, with an overlying corner of the bending or forming head broken away, the operating mechanisms being shown in a position taken immediately after the start of its cycle of operation; Fig. 2 is a plan view of said apparatus, with a somewhat similar corner section taken therefrom, and the operating mechanisms being at a position taken in completing the bending operation; Fig. 3 is an end view of the said apparatus taken from a. section formed by the removal of the fixed support head and the adjacent ends of the operating rods at the right end thereof; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a lamp stem having a grouping of support wires adapted to be bent by the above apparatus, and Fig. 5 is a corresponding perspective view of the lamp stem after the support wires thereof have been bent to shape by said apparatus.

The apparatus shown in the drawing is a manually operated bench-type device particularly adapted to receive a lamp stem I and to bend the three long and two short support wires 2 and 3, respectively, extending therefrom, to positions which facilitate the mounting of a filament (like that indicated at 4 in Fig. 5) in a definite relation on said stem I. The apparatus is preferably mounted upon a table (not shown) before an operator, whose function is to insert the lamp stem I into the apparatus, to operate said apparatus by pushing and then retracting the knob 5 and then removing the completed stem from the apparatus. In the complete cycle of operation of the apparatus, the support wires 2 and 3, which extend radially outward from the vitreous button 6 on the end of the arbor I in a single plane transverse to the axis thereof, are bent at intermediate points along their length so as to extend axially of the stem I to points at which they support respective ends of the coiled segments making up the filament 4. Support wires 2, for instance,

ly positioned notches ing the exhaust tube upper end of the post l3 which is fastened to the apparatus.

parallel with and 'axis from the fixed head l6 which is attached to the opposite end of the bed M of the apparatus.

ing head 8 themain portion of the are bent at points a short distance from the button 6 and again at points relatively near their ends so as to extend axially beyond the filament 4 and then over into engagement with respective segments thereof. Support wires 3, on the other hand, are Only bent at points a short distance from the button 6 so as to extend directly to the positions at which they support the opposite ends of the filament segments. In the subsequently occurring lamp-making operations not associated with this invention, the ends of the support wires 3 are bent into proper position to engage with the filament A. Inasmuch as the longer support wires 2 are provided with open hooks 2' prior to the time they are bent into shape by the present apparatus, the bending operation associated with said aparatus is directly instrumental in fixing the position of .the filament 4 and eliminates the inaccuracies and dithculties of former manufacturing operations wherein the bending operations were performed manually and readjustments were required to assure accuracy in the position of the filament 4.

At the time the lamp stem l is placed in the apparatus, the movable bending or forming head 8 is in a retracted position at the left (front) end thereof (Figs. 1 and 2) and is offset from the position shown so as to-be entirely clear of the position taken by the lamp stem I. This arrangement permits more rapid and free insertion of the lamp stem I in the apparatus without danger of bumping the support wires 2 and 3 against some part thereof. The operator inserts the arbor end of the stem I first by directing the button 5 into the cup-shaped opening in the die block the support wires 2 and 3 extending therefrom into notches H! in the rim of said die block The stem 1 must be so directed that the cavity 6' in the end of the button 6-is engaged by a centering projection II and butts against the surrounding area of the die block 9, and must be orientated so that the support wires 2 and 3 are all to one side of the stem l and fall into specifical- ID in the die block 9. The final stem-inserting movement consists in restl2 in a cleft or notch in the end of the bed 14 of the apparatus and positions said steml along a definite operating axis of said The stem l retains this fixed position throughout the period of operation of the apparatus inasmuch as the die block 9 is located in the end of an angular arm portion extending then laterally of the operating The first step in the cycle of operation of the apparatus is an advancing movement of the bend- Which carries it laterally into alignment with the operating axis of the apparatus and longitudinally therealong to a position about stem l, the position in which the bending head 8 is shown in Fig. 1. The advancing movement is produced manually by pressure against the control knob 5 at the end of the operating rod ll such that a longitudinal motion is produced in said rod I! which develops a corresponding motion in the bending head 8 as said bending head! is mounted thereon through an-extended portion l8 gripping the mid-portion of said rod [1. The lateral component of the movement of the bending head 8 occurs as the extended portion l8 thereof, which lies between the angularly set cam faces I9 and [9 of thebed II, is directed to a vertical position thereby and Qand tion.

The succeeding. step in the operation or" the apparatus is an'axial movement of the bending head 8'which advances it to the right and which causes the movable bending fingers 26 to engage and wipe the outwardly extending end portions of the support wires :2 over the rim and outer face of the stationary die block 9. This movement of the bendinghead 8 is produced by continued manual pressure on the knob 5 and the resulting additional longitudinal movement of the operating rod ll.

The particular bending head 8 disclosed is provided with three movable bending fingers 20 corresponding to the three long support wires 2 which are to be bent thereby, but can be constructed in a like manner with other bending fingers if a different grouping or differently positioned support wires are to be bent. In the upright position of the head 8 each movable bending finger 20 lies in a plane which includes the operating axis of the apparatus and the wire 2 it is to bend, and is pivoted on a pin 2! heldbetween upstanding portions of a bracket 22 which is fastened in a radially extending groove in the bending head 8. Each bending finger 20 is constantly under the influence of the contraction force of a spring 23 which extends between posts in said finger 20 and the bracket 22 and, atthe moment of engagement with the support wire 2, is biased so that a heel portion 20' thereof rests against the end of an adjusting screw 24 carried by the bending head 8. This position is retained by the bending finger 20 during the advance of the bending head 8 and is such that the outer end or tip of the finger just clears a cooperating plane surface 25 on the outer (octagonal) face of the die block 9 and bends the support wire 2, which falls into a channel in the tip end of the finger 20, against said plane surface 25. Both the end of the finger 20 and that portion of the outer face of the die block 9 on either side of the support wire 2 represented by the plane surface 25 lie in a plane perpendicular to said support wire 2 and parallel to the operative axis of the apparatus. In wiping the support wires 2 into engagement with the plane surfaces 25 of thedie block 9, the bending fingers 20 also cause the end portions of said support wires 2 to fall along corresponding cooperative plane surfaces on the outer face of a movable die block 2'5.

A further step in the bending operation occurs when the hold-down fingers 28, which are disposed radially inward from the movable bendin fingers 20 on the bending head 8, pass overthe plane surfaces 25 of the die block 9 and that portion of the support wire 2 lying thereagainshas said bending fingers are then relieved of holding the support wires 2 thereagainst. The support wires-2 lie in channels in the faces of the holddown fingers 28 adjacent the die block 9 corresponding to those in the bending fingers 20 and are held in their bent positions along the'face of the die'block 9 since said hold-down fingers=2B are'fixed' members mounted by meansof angular portions thereof located in the channels 29 in the bending head 8 and fastened thereto by screws 30.

The final step in the bending of the support wires 2 occurs when the axial advance of the bending head 8 carries the pins 3| protruding from one side of each of the bending fingers 20 against the co icave surfaces of the cams 32 on the fixed head l6 whereby said bending fingers 20 are rocked so as to bend the end of the support wires 2 over the rear edge of the movable die block 2i as shown in Fig. 2. The bending fingers 20, which turn about the pins 2| against the resistance of the springs 23, are moved in a manner causing the ends thereof to pass over the rim 33 of the movable die block 21 and are of such a length that they do not engage the hooks 2 in the ends of the support wires 2, which hooks enter the cavity 34 in the center portion of said movable die block 21. A plate 35 attached to the fixed head It and screws 36 behind each of the cams 32 permit ready adjustment of the cams and, accordingly, the rocking movement of the bending fingers 20.

During the latter part of the final bending movement of the fingers 20, the motion of the operating rod it also creates a corresponding axial movement in the movable die block 2'! which assists the bending finger 20 in making and setting a right-angle bend in the support wire 2. The movement of the operating rod l1 advancing the bending head 8 so as to rock the bending fingers 2t carries'the extended end portion of a clamp 37, which is attached to the end of the operating rod ll opposite knob 5, against the collar 38 about the end of the auxiliary operating rod 39 and thereby creates a longitudinal movement in the auxiliary operating rod 39 and a correspondingly directed motion in the movable die block 2? which is mounted thereon. A spring 4% is located between the collar 38, which slides freely on the auxiliary operating rod 39, and a second collar 4! fastened directly thereto so as to absorb the excess motion of the clamp 37 after the movable die block 21 has pressed the support wire 2 tightly against the bending finger 2c. Further cushioning of the movement of the operating rod l1 and auxiliary operating rod 39 is effected by the spring 42 located on the end of said auxiliary operating rod 39 adjacent the knob 5, which spring 42 is normally slightly contracted between the end of the bed [4 and the collar 43 on said auxiliary operating rod 39. Proper alignment between the movable die block 21 and the operating axis of the apparatus is assured by the guiding influence exerted by the engagement of the heel 44 (Fig. 1) of said movable block 27 with the adjacent flat surface 45 of the bed 84.

Midway in the bending movement of the bending head 8 and just prior to the time the final bend is made in the support wires 2, a pair of fixed bending fingers 46 (Fig. 3) are advanced by said bending head 8 to a point where they wipe the shorter support wires 3 over the outer face of the stationary die block 9. This operation lays the end portions of the support wires 3 along plane surfaces 41 on the outer face of the stationary die block 9 and makes a rightangle bend in said support wires 3. The fixed bending fingers 46 lie within grooves in the bending head 8 between the bending fingers 20 and are grooved at their tip ends to accommodate the support wires 3. The bending portion of the cycle of operation of the apparatus is complete when the final bend previously described has been made in the support wires 2 by the fingers 20, and the movement of the operating rod H is terminated.

The retraction of the bending head 8 from engagement with the support wires 2 and 3 and to a position completely separated from the stem 1 is brought about immediately after the bending operation by the manual retraction of the operating rod H. In this interval during which the bending head 8 moves directly to the left (Figs. 1 and 2), the movable bending fingers 20 again rock outwardly until their heel portions rest against the stop screw 24 and then move back along the support wires 2. The pressure of the clamp 31 against the collar 38 on the auxiliary operating rod 39 is also relieved at this time allowing said rod 39 and the movable die block 21 to move in a corresponding direction. The motion of the movable die block 21 is brought about by the expansion of the spring 42 and is terminated when the expansion force of the spring 48, located on the opposite end of the auxiliary operating rod 39 between the collar 49 thereon and the fixed head I6, balances the further expansion of said spring 42. The effect of the motion of the die block 21 is to retract it sufliciently from the hooked ends of the support wires 2 to permit the stem l and support wires 2 and 3 to be more readily removed from the apparatus. The retraction of the bending head 8 also slides the hold-down fingers 28 and the fixed bending fingers 46 back along respective support wires 2 and 3 and finally retracts the extended portion l8 thereof to a position between the cam faces l9 and [9' of the bed M which swings it sideward from the operation axis of the apparatus to a completely out-of-the-way position. Manual removal of the stem I, which now has support wires 2 and 3 shaped as shown in Fig. 5, completes the cycle of operation of the apparatus.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for bending a group of filament support wires extending radially outward from an end of a lamp stem, comprising a bed portion, a fixed die block and a movable die block supported from said bed portion and spaced apart along an operating axis spaced from said bed portion, means to support a lamp stem in said axis with its said end abutting against the front end of said fixed die block and its support Wires projecting beyond the sides of said die block, an open-sided hollow-centered bending head having thereon fixed bending fingers and movable bending fingers mounted for pivotal movement in radial planes intersecting at an axis at the hollow center of said head, means mounting said head from said bed pertion in spaced axial relation to said fixed die block, means to cause movement of said bending head from a position laterally offset from said operating axis to a position centered about said axis and the stem therein and thence along said axis across the sides of said fixed and movable die blocks to cause said fixed fingers to engage and bend said support wires about said die blocks, means to cause said movable fingers to pivot radially inward when they have moved to a position adjacent the rear end of said movable die block to bend the extremities of the wires over the said rear end of the movable die block, means to retract said bending head, and means operative upon retraction of the bending head for moving the movable die block along said operating J'a'igis toward the "fi'iie'd die block to permit readv disengagement of -the 'fo'rm'ed "wires,

2. In apparatus of the class describe'd, the combination of a bed portion, a 'fifed'die means mounted on said bed .7 portion, a bending L'Hea'd having thereon pivotabIe bending means and mounted on said bed iioitidn in spaced a'iiia'l relation to said fiited dief'riieans, a 'fnovabie die means mounted on said bed portion in spaced axial relation to said. fixed die iin ea'n's, means to reciprocate the bending head and cause it to move into cooperative relation to said 'fiited "die means and then therebevond into cooperative relation to said movable die means, means to cause said 'pivotable bending means "to. pivot toward said movable die '-'means upon movement of the bending- -hea d into cooperative -relation thereto, and means t'ojreci'procate thefinovable die means toward the 'fi ied dieimeansiupon retraction of the bndingfhte ad.

"3.1m apparatus of 'the class described, the

combination of a'bedportion, afixed diem'ember mounted on said bedportion, meansto support a workpiece with-wire portionsadj'acent a.

face of said fixed-die member and p'rojectingbeyond side-portionsof said die member, a bending head mountedon said bed portion in spaced axial relation to said fixed die member and'having thereonfixed bending fingers an'd-pivotable'bending fingers, a movable diememberniounted on said bed-portion in spaced akial relation-to said fixed die member, means to-re'cipro'cate' the bending head and cause the fixed bending fingers thereon to engage said wires and wipe them around the said side portions of the fixed die member and along corresponding side portions of the movable die member, means to cause said pivotable fingers to pivot toward said movable die member to bend -said wires thereabout, and means to reciprocate the movable die member toward the fixed die member upon retraction of thebending head.

CLAYTON T. VAUGHAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 155,657 Lewis Oct. 6, 1874 11,323,143 Abbott Nov. 25, 1919 1,341,964 Yennett June 1, 1920 1,527,375 Nystrom Feb. 24, 1925 1,642,903 Stoakes Sept. 20, 1927 1,666,380 Heinle Apr. 17,1928 1,701,250 Young Feb. 25, 1929 1,718,753 Miller June 25, 1929 1,816,683 Ledig July 28, 1931 1,821,894. Otaka Sept. 1, 1931 1,907,532 Flaws May'9, 1933 2,297,950 Flaws Oct. 6, 1942 2,380,742 Flaws July 31, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 472,647 Great Britain Sept. 27, 1937 167,876 Great Britain June 24, 1937 

